State of Confusion
by Lieutenant Tazer
Summary: It was one thing for Pepper to catch him, let alone Bruce who happened to frequent Tony's lab to work, but for Captain America to was another thing all together. Getting caught by Steve was almost just as bad as getting caught by your parents; almost. Slash! StevexTony
1. Chapter 1

State of Confusion

Tony sat at his work bench while one hand scrolled through output numbers from his laptop and his other hand lazily worked his hardened member under the table. His left hand was buried deep within the confines of his athletic pants languidly offering a slow twisting-pull motion to the aroused organ. It wasn't unusual for the billionaire to fondle himself while locked up in his workshop, lord knows Pepper's caught him doing this many times, but Tony couldn't help that his mind tended to wander in and out of its brilliance and into the _dirty-thought_ bank he had stored for a rainy day jerk off. The _Spank Bank_ he frequently referred to it as. The dark haired man was used to being alone in Stark Tower, so when Steve rounded the corner to stand in the doorway Tony couldn't help but freeze. It was one thing for Pepper to catch him, let alone Bruce who happened to frequent Tony's lab to work, but for Captain America to was another thing all together.

"Hey, Cap, what are you doing down here?" Tony slowly loosened his fingers around his stiff member and bit back a painful whimper at how hard it was for him to stop mid-stroke to entertain his blonde friend. "I normally don't get the pleasure of you coming down here to chew my ass for something I did." Maybe the phrasing wasn't appropriate for the uncanny situation Tony found himself in, but Steve had to be used to the sexually related quips by now; if not, oh well.

"I came down to see if you wanted to eat. You've been down here all day, and I didn't remember seeing you crawl into bed last night. I figured your stomach would appreciate a good meal." Steve crossed his arms over his chest before leaning into the doorframe, blocking the stairs with his larger shoulder span. "Should I be _chewing your ass out_ instead?" Tony sucked his bottom lip in between his teeth and bit down hard in a desperate attempt to stifle the laughter threatening to bubble over. Unconsciously, Tony's hidden hand started making minute movements, urging on this more than awkward situation. Getting caught by Steve was almost just as bad as getting caught by your parents; almost. "What did you do?" So why with the super-soldier standing before him did he feel the urge to play with himself even more?

Swallowing back his fit of laughter, Tony leaned forward on his elbow and placed his hand over his mouth to hide his smile as well as the growing blush on his cheeks. "Eh, I just figured Clint would have already complained to you about me taking his bow. Bruce and I are working on upgrading everyone's weapons, so I may or may not have snuck into his room while he and Natasha were… well, I'm sure you get it. Speaking of weapons, I have yours complete. It's sitting over on the counter." Pointing over his shoulder to the counter behind him with his thumb, Tony returned to his work on Clint's bow hoping the blonde would understand the message and leave so Tony could finish himself off more than finish his work on the bow. The erection cradled between his fingers was painfully hard at this point, and the presence of his team captain wasn't doing anything to deflate his excited state like he thought it would.

Hearing the sliding door click shut, Tony breathed a heavy sigh of relief at the prospect of Captain America fleeing back up the stairs, ignoring Tony in his lab. Glancing up to peer over his screen, just to make sure Steve had in fact gone, Tony sucked in his bottom lip between his teeth when he realized that the blonde had disappeared. Instantly the grip on his hardened erection tightened, making the man's toes curl at the faster and tighter pace his fist provided.

Sweat began to form across the man's brow, forcing his mind away from its thought processor and back towards his nether regions that desperately wanted a release. It was thoughts such as this, making him realize he hadn't gotten laid in a long while that spurred on such occurrences in the lab, but Tony couldn't help that upgrading weapons along with making new tech for the needy media took such a long time, keeping him from the many ladies who wouldn't hesitate to spread their buttery legs for him. The easy lay was the perfect situation for the genius, as long term relationships with the man usually ended in disasters; such like Pepper leaving him for his best friend Rhodey. Tony was very familiar with the phrase: _once you go black, you can't go back_. Apparently Rhodey was amazing in bed as well as being a doting fiancé, fierce friend, and excellent military man. Or, at least that's what Tony would assume.

Swallowing back a throaty moan, Tony cried out slightly as he could feel his body reacting to dirty thoughts of Rhodey and Pepper in the throes of the dark sheets in their bedroom. Pepper was always such a proper lady, even when he had the pleasure of screwing her into the mattress after the creation of Ironman. She was a missionary girl, the typical school girl who believed sex was supposed to be something beautiful between two people and when Tony showed her just how dirty and sexy it really could be, he was more than depressed when she turned down his request to try new things. He would forever be stuck in the friend zone, but it didn't mean he couldn't fantasize about his best friend's fiancé dressed in nothing but sexy lingerie; satin, lace, or leather.

There was even one drunken night with the deadly assassin, Natasha. Tony had his share of enthusiastic partners before, but none like Natasha as she took complete control over his body in their drunken stupor and rode him all the way till dawn. Tony could still remember what the crick in his back felt like for the following few days after, and even the dirty looks she would throw his way sending his mind back into an oblivion that brought up some of the highlight moments of that night. As amazing as it was, Tony wasn't dumb enough to try and do it again because a) he was slightly afraid of Natasha b) he was equally as afraid of Clint, who had a knowing glint in his eyes every time he threw Tony an annoyed look and c) Tony over all just wanted to live to see another day and not tempt fate to see just what kind of kinky messes he could get into with that woman. The genius was pretty sure Natasha could kill him with just sex. Whereas Pepper was a classy lady, Natasha held no regards when it came to getting an orgasm and pretty much anything went so long as she got off.

There were times when Tony fantasized about his two favorite sex partners together, together with him, and he desperately wished he had someone to help ease off the stiffness between his legs. Dropping his forehead forwards slightly, his mouth parted as a gasp passed through his lips dragging cool air into his mouth and down into his lungs. His stomach muscles clenched as his hand worked his leaking member over, sending sparks of pleasure surging up his spine to filter out into every nerve ending in the rest of his body. The tips of his toes were tingling, though Tony wasn't sure if it was because he had them curled so tightly or pressed so hard against the cool tiled flooring. Possibly a combination of both, but the buzz of the pleasure his hand was creating coupled with his imaginations images from his Spank Bank Tony was positive he was going to need to go change his clothes shortly as he was about to make a huge mess.

Squeezing his eyes firmly shut, Tony tucked his head to his chest as he felt his orgasm start to take its fiery hold over his body and just prayed his could still breathe at the end of it. Snapping his eyes open, Tony's mouth instantly became dry as an additional hand joined his own, buried deep within the grasp of his dark athletic pants. His hand instantly stilled under the long, muscular fingers of the additional hand that joined the party. An equally brawny body collided with his back, drawing the genius half off his work stool and into the arms of his captor surprising the brunette more than words could have described. Tony thought he was alone! Instantly knowing the smell of the person whose body had surrounded him, Tony sank slightly into their hold hoping this was just some joke that Steve decided to play; Tony didn't have the thought to turn around to see Steve had moved around his work bench to inspect the modifications to his shield.

"No need to stop, Tony," Steve purred catching Tony completely off guard. "You looked like you were having fun." Steve's large hand moved from the tip down to the base of Tony's hard erection, dragging an ungodly moan from the man's lips.

"Steve," Tony whimpered. Pressing his body firmly into the blondes chiseled chest, Tony allowed his head to lull back to rest on Steve's shoulder as the soldiers grip on his member tighten in time with his fast paced pulling and twisting on Tony's hard erection. "What are you—"

Steve's hand came up to close slowly around the man's mouth, silencing any words that dared to pass the billionaires mouth. If Tony wasn't shocked before, he sure was now as Steve's index and middle fingers slowly worked open his lips to slide easily inside his dry mouth to trace the ridges of his teeth and the curve of his tongue. Tony mentally noted that if he tried to bite down, he was pretty sure he wouldn't have even fazed the man manipulating his body like a Transformer robot toy as Tony had long ago surrendered into the waves of pleasure swimming anew in the pit of his stomach. Steve's touch was mesmerizing. Tony couldn't help his body at this point, not with the sinful actions the soldier was performing on his neglected body because being pampered by that mouth and hand left Tony little reason as to argue with the _why_ or the _who _and just let his body submit to the undulating waves of pleasure washing over his body like a tidal wave.

Biting down firmly at the nape of Tony's neck, Steve smirked at the mewled cry that echoed about the white and grey walls of the lab. Alternating the pleasure emitting from the reddened bite mark on his shoulder and the steady pull on the man's nether region, Steve knew he had Tony right where he wanted him. But he had one more thing to add into the mix for when Tony's back would arch against his body in an orgasmic state that would be forever engrained in his mind. Ignoring his own hardened length, pressing painfully against his tented khaki's, Steve focused all his attention on the man who was slowly coming undone in his hands; at the will to his mercy.

Steve removed his fingers from Tony's mouth, and made his hand disappear for a short time making the engineer's mind work in overdrive to comprehend where Steve was going to place it next. Unable to stifle the gasp that spilled from the tip of his tongue, Tony dug his heels into the black tiled flooring in a feeble attempt to keep himself grounded by the best hand job he'd ever received. His hips lifted slightly off the stool under their own accord, and partly by Steve's encouraging hand under his backside. "Shh, you don't want someone to come down here, do you?"

He tried to make a snarky comment back towards the blonde about how he had been watching Tony fist himself under the table, but all coherent thought escaped the genius as he felt the tip of the soldiers index finger swirl unceremoniously around his puckered entrance. His knees gave way, bending against the will of the brunette's better judgment and slamming his oversensitive body down onto the blonde's index finger. His fingers flexed feebly against the instruments strewn across the table, attempting to grab something but failed as Steve forced an additional finger inside Tony's tight passage. His right hand flew behind Steve's head, threading his fingers through the golden locks of blonde hair at the base of his captain's skull. His left hand gripped tightly at Steve's left knee that was encircling his waist at stool level. Mouth hanging open, Tony knew he looked nothing short of a hot mess at the mercy to Steve's abusive will.

"Steve," Tony keened weakly. "Please, Steve—" his words melted into a strangled scream as Steve's long fingers brushed none-too-gently against his prostate, liquefying all thoughts in his brain to sizzle under the steamy situation Tony seemed to have found himself in. Steve's teeth alternated from gentle, sweet, to shy and finally the rough caress as he bit down into a new spot on his neck, molding his mouth into a perfect fit around Tony's pulse point and applying additional pressure to make the genius cry out in ecstasy. If Tony thought he was feeling good then, when a third finger was added to his stretched back side he figured he was on cloud nine by this point.

"Come on, Tony." Steve murmured into his ear, giving the newest reddened mark on Tony skin a moment to itself so his mouth could busy itself with the tender spot just behind Tony's ear. Steve's breath was hot as it danced across Tony's equally enflamed skin. "If only you could see how hot you look fucking yourself on my fingers." Steve's voice was husky with his own need, clouding his normal voice into something that was more gravely. The engineer paused his rolling hips to wonder when that action had started, but quickly resumed as he was so close he could practically taste his orgasm waiting to erupt like a volcano.

Tony desperately wanted to know where Steve learned to talk dirty to someone, let alone where the guy learned how to get Tony Stark off by just using his fingers and mouth. When his captain had popped his cherry was news to him, but at the current moment he couldn't care as Steve's callused fingers were stroking perfectly against his smooth prostate, buried deep inside his rectum. "S-Steve!"

"That's it, Tony." He ran his teeth unforgiving over Tony's red raw skin.

"Steve!" He could feel the solder smirk against his skin, clearly enjoying watching Tony come undone in his hands. All movement from Tony's undulating hips and Steve's ruthless fingers, both buried within his body and wrapped around his battered member, stopped as the man's orgasm ripped through his body, crippling the man momentarily. Steve's mouth continued to work the reddened skin on his neck, alternating between gently lapping his tongue over the mark he made and whispering incoherent thoughts into Tony's fuzzy mind. He was positive that if Steve's seated body wasn't cradling his body into his broad chest he would be a seizing mess on the floor, a victim to his own post orgasmic bliss. His limbs were a quivering mess, shaking relentlessly against Steve's firm body mimicking the flutter of his heart in his chest against his ribcage.

Inhaling for what felt like the first time in a long time, Tony's body sagged fully against Steve depleted of any form of movement or sustaining energy to lift himself off the soldiers seated position on an additional work stool. Instead his chest heaved painfully as he tried to catch his breath. Steve had taken to peppering tender kisses to his up his neck and into his jaw line before finally locating his mouth and claiming his lips against his own in a dominating action. Unable to fight against his blonde captain, Tony tilted his head to the side giving Steve more room to influence his body once again. Those three fingers that were buried deep within his body slowly retracted, enticing an abused whimper to pass into Steve's mouth through their connected lips making the whimper his own.

Pulling his right hand free from Tony's backside, Steve ran them down the man's clothed thigh in part to wipe them off and to get the older-younger man to relax in his grip. His left hand uncurled around Tony's soft, limp organ and pulled free back into the cooler air of the lab. Both men starred down at the mess on Steve's hand, seemingly unsure what to do with the white juices splatter-painted across his fingers and palm.

Steve's monstrous hands guided Tony's hips back onto his own stool, where the man's body painfully sagged against his work bench, Clint's bow long forgotten under the mess of tools that Tony had managed to dislodge from their respective places. Seated on his stool once again, sparks of pain shot up Tony's back from the abuse he'd taken from Steve's intrusive fingers. Forcing himself to spin around on his stool, Tony starred in a confused manner at the blonde who was looking pretty triumphant with himself. Opening his mouth to say something, he was cut off when Steve leaned forwards to capture Tony's mouth against his own in a soft kiss before standing. Making his way over the sliding door by the stairs, where he initially came from, Steve turned with a devious smirk plastered over his face and winked at the dumbstruck brunette. Tony was only able to follow the man's movement with his eyes trained to the discoloration on the front of Steve's trousers, his own jaw slack against its hinge.

"Come upstairs in a few, I'll have dinner ready." The sliding door slid shut, and Steve was gone leaving Tony to fumble with himself down in his workshop.

_What had gotten into him? _Tony wondered loudly, the thought ricocheting around his cranium before he weakly reached to grab one of his tools. When the instrument fell from his grasp, Tony gave up and hauled his sore body to his feet, slowly making his way up the stairs to follow after Steve.

xXxXx

So, I know I should be working on _The Biggest Loser_, but I had this idea bouncing about my head and I no matter how I tried to work on TBL nothing seemed to fit. Hopefully getting this out of the way will make it easier for me to start from scratch on chapter two. Let me know what you guys think, as I have a feeling I'm terrible at writing smut like this.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a little over a week since Tony found himself at the mercy of the super soldier's hands, stimulated under sexual circumstances, and he still looked just as bruised and disheveled as the day after. Standing before his full length mirror inside his walk in closet, dressed in nothing but a pair of sweatpants, Tony tentatively reached up to lightly finger the black and purple bruise that reminded him so much of the evening in his workshop. It hurt just as bad as it looked, but it was a pleasant reminder of probably the best orgasm he'd ever hand in his life; it scared him because it wasn't a woman who he was screwing, but he was in a role reversal with none other than Captain America. Just the thought of that evening made his limp organ twitch at the pleasant memory.

Swallowing back a grunt, something that Tony found himself doing frequently if he moved his right shoulder a specific way, making the skin stretch taunt over the bruised area, he gently laid an ice pack over the large bruised area expanding all the way up his neck, resting behind his ear, and over the crest of his shoulder muscles. The chill of the pack stung, making the man of iron wish he had swathed it in a towel, but the chill pulled away the pain and that was ultimately what the dark haired genius had wanted. Never before had Tony been so happy for it being of the wintery months in New York. The excuse to wear a shirt with a collar expanding higher up his neck, or a hoodie with the hood fluffed around his neck to hide the discoloration traveling up and down the surface of his neck was believable enough that he was able to dodge wandering questions from a questioning Rhodey.

After he had followed Steve up the stairs, much slower than his counterpart due to the stretched burn in his backside and weak muscles, Tony eyed the blonde soldier cautiously. For what he knew of why and yet he found himself hoping Steve had plans for round two. Tony never considered himself to be a homosexual, never even considered defiling a guy—or allowing one to touch him in return—before Steve and now all Tony could think about was what it would have been like to have his Captain buried inside his body, fucking him into his work bench over and over. Even if he begged for the pleasurable torment to stop, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop the clenching his body would make around Steve and hold him in. Steve's touch was addicting. The man's fingers felt amazing as they stimulated his prostate, smoothing over the tissue and caressing it in just the most erotic way possible. Tony's imagination continued to distort the reality of what it would feel like to have those digits replaced by Steve himself. Seating himself at the dining room table, albeit it hurt to sit, Tony starred down at the spread his captain had prepared for them.

Dinner carried on in a uniformed silence, the only sound coming from silverware scraping lightly against Tony's expensive China that he was positive he'd never used before. The grilled chicken had a honey glaze, something sweet and savory that quickly brought Tony's thoughts back to what had happened in his workshop. No matter what he did, his thoughts were plagued by what was and the possible what if's that could happen. The meal passed on without incident, and while the two were putting the dishes away Tony couldn't help the words slip from his mouth as he was desperate to know what the blonde soldier was thinking. He had to know the reasoning behind Steve's uncharacteristic actions.

"Steve, what was—"silenced by an index finger over his lips, Tony blinked sheepishly hoping he hadn't over stepped a boundary. He hoped this wasn't supposed to be one of those unspoken faux-pa. The soldier leaned forward replacing his finger by his soft lips over Tony's and slide it behind the man's neck, kissing away any doubt that was swimming through the shorter man's head. He captured Tony's mouth once again with his own before sliding past the confused engineer, slapping the man's tender backside in a playful manner, making his way into the hall and disappearing into one of the upper levels of Stark Tower. Briefly, Tony wondered if he was supposed to follow Steve.

Tentatively removing the ice pack from his shoulder, he dropped it on the floor with a mental note to pick it up later and place it back into the freezer for the next time he would need to ice his tender body. As it was now, he didn't care too much that it would melt on the floor only that he had a drink of some kind calling his name out in the kitchen. Deciding against slipping a shirt on, as he was the only one it the tower that evening, Tony left the confines of his room for the more open space of the modern kitchen down the hall and around the corner.

The scotch slid down his throat, leaving a comforting burn following after. Pouring himself a second, and downing it just as fast as the first one, Tony sputtered to life when a familiar pair of hands found his hips and jerking forward out of defensive reflex. Dropping the glass onto the floor, the shatter making a loud resonating noise, Tony starred at a well dressed Steve yet again confused by the guy's mannerisms lately. Backing away, taking a few steps back until his body was flush with the counter, Tony eyed the blonde wearily unsure what he was going to do. Since the incident in his workshop a week ago, Steve had gotten called away to do some work for SHIELD and really Tony had not seen or heard from him since. Though looking at his captain now, he could see the exhaustion written across every dark mark on his face.

"Hey, what's up, Cap?" Trying for their usual and easy banter, Tony offered a meek smile to the other male. "You look tired."

Steve's hands were still frozen in the air where Tony's hips used to be. Slowly dropping them to his sides, Steve fished around in one of his TUD pockets and pulled out a low tech looking, and yet very broken, piece of equipment; he tossed it to Tony. Steve leaned against the island, using his hands to brace himself. Tony noticed how the man's eyes seem to droop even more with each passing second. "Hi, Tony," Steve sighed with a small smile on his face. "Director Furry wants to know if you can analyze this, I'm not sure what he called it, but he wants to see if you can get any data from it."

Work related; great, "what's on it?" Catching the device with a little trouble, Tony cradled it in the palms of his hands, gaping at the extensive damage done to the exterior of the hard drive to some really, really old computer; ancient. It wasn't enough that the tech was dented beyond repair for any ordinary person or that the burn marks seemed to extend into the inside wiring, but Tony doubted whatever it come from had to be really important by the outdated look. Though, he could be wrong…

"I was on a surveillance mission, and the building we were monitoring blew up." Tony gave his friend a pensive look, a million other questions fluttering to his mind.

"So what is this from, some super secret communist flunky or a third world terrorist organization plotting against peace and seeking world domination?" Already inspecting the damage with a critical eye, Tony turned the charred device over and easily popped off the flimsy covering plate. Noticing that Steve had not said anything, Tony looked up from the device and into the far off look of the soldiers expression wondering what was floating around in the man's head. "Steve?"

"It was an offshore base a detection team found while on a training mission. It was initially thought to be an old, abandoned warehouse used by the German's in the World War, but it has been confirmed that HYDRA operatives have been using it, and manufacturing devices. We were not able to determine who, what's, or why's but were hoping that maybe you could find some data stored on here." Steve pushed off from the island, and stepped over the shards of glass with his boots, crunching the pieces into even smaller particles that would later be a bitch to clean up. Crossing the short distance between himself and his comrade, Steve removed the demolished box from Tony's hands before pulling the startled engineer against his body.

Confused again by Steve's actions, Tony froze when those comforting arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him flush against that chiseled body. His arms were trapped between their torso's, hindering any chances for escape from the man's strong, pinning Tony in place. Steve's head dipped forward, resting his forehead against Tony's in a calming manner, easing any weary though from the engineer's muddled brain. "You okay?"

Arching an eyebrow, Tony looked up through his eyelashes to stare at the soldier. "Yeah," he replied hesitantly. "Are you ok—" silenced by Steve's mouth, Tony could only submit to Steve's dominant nature and attempt to keep up with the kisses his captain was bestowing upon him. If Tony thought sex with Steve was mind blowing, it was nothing compared to the lightheaded feeling the man's kisses effects had upon him. Steve broke away, leaving Tony to quickly gasp for air as he trailed feather light kissing touches down Tony's jaw and only the dark discoloration of his shoulder. At first, even the light touch from Steve's mouth brought on a wave of pain to Tony's brain but it eventually faded into a dull ache, replaced by the elated feeling his mind was swimming in. "Steve."

Catching Tony's mouth with his again, Steve moaned into the slighter man, savoring the taste that was so uniquely Tony. For him, the darker haired man beneath him weighed next to nothing so hearing the surprised squeak from him as he lifted his hips up and onto the counter was nothing short of amusing. Taking the opportunity provided to him, Steve invaded the younger-older man's mouth with his tongue, caressing and lapping at the muscle inside the dark cavern. His hand came up to cradle the left side of Tony's head, twisting the engineer's body into the perfect angle.

Struggling with wanting to push Steve away and demand what was going on between them and pulling him closer, Tony decided that since his hands unconsciously balled into the front of the soldiers tan tee he would deep it appropriate—for now—to pull the blonde closer and savor the moment. Watching Steve loose himself in his attempt to possess was nothing short of hot. He felt a little guilty about opening his eyes, watching Steve work his magic, but something about the peaceful atmosphere that settled around the blonde while he busied himself with Tony's body made the man of iron unable to pull his eyes away.

Slipping his hands under Tony's backside, the dark haired man wondered if he was about to be penetrated once again by those strong fingers, or by something else. Cradling Tony's pelvis against his body, Steve carried Tony's near weightless body into the living room and promptly deposited him onto the couch, dropping him with a slight bounce. The darkened room, illuminated by the glowing reactor in the man's chest, held little comfort until Steve blanketed his body over Tony's, capturing his mouth with his once again.

He tried not to think about it, tried so hard not to think about all the other women who had had messed around with on this couch, in this room, but he couldn't help but compare them all to Captain America. In every scenario that a memory brought, nothing compared to the way Steve made him feel, trapped between his body and the couch. He couldn't remember half of the names of the ladies he had ever been with, the only names popping to his immediate thoughts were Pepper and Tasha as they were the only memorable ones but with the way Steve's mouth was working against his own, Tony had trouble remembering what those lovely ladies kisses tasted like.

He wasn't gay, Tony would argue that to the day he died but he couldn't dispute the way his body reacted with Steve dominating him. It felt way too good to disagree. Surrendering, Tony laced his arms around Steve's neck, pulling him closer. The light from his reactor disappeared between their bodies, creating a warm spot on the front of Steve's wrinkled shirt. Tony wanted to have that warm spot for as long as he could when he noticed how close it was to the soldier's heart. They were all freaks, every single one of the Avengers was considered to be social outcasts by normal standards, but they made their own little freakish family between themselves. For the longest time, Tony was the only one on his island and slowly Rhodey, Pepper and even Happy made their way to his shores, and then one by one each of the Avengers made their way onto his island, making his small world seem so much larger, giving him a purpose to be. Tony was still unsure what was going on, but for now he was okay with it.

For now, he could just feel.

xXxXx

A/N Sooo… initially this was SUPPOSED to be a one-shot, but between everyone's comments, follows, and alerts coupled with my frazzled head State of Confusion has now become a multi-chapter story. I can't express how much I love you all for reading and even leaving the amazing comments (you know who you are). I will say I don't have a beta, and I wanted to post this before I go into work tonight, so if you find some glaring grammar or spelling mistakes (or see something that just doesn't make sense), let me know and I'll happily fix it—though I plan on revising it tomorrow. Thanks again everyone! Leave a review for me too, I love to know what you guys think.


	3. Chapter 3

He felt warm, warmer than he usually would after waking up. Used to the cool sheets on the other side of the bed, it was comforting waking up with his body pressed tightly against Steve's. The soldier's fingers were slowly curling over the engineer's flat stomach, brushing the back of his fingers over the sensitive naval skin, slowly drawing Tony into a semi conscious state. His dark eyes slowly opened and looked to the digital clock on the other side of the living room. He bit back a groan as he had only been asleep for less than two hours and wanted to know why Steve thought it to be appropriate to wake him up when he was having the best sleep in a long while. Rolling from his side onto his back, pushing Steve's larger body further into the back of the couch, Tony stared blearily up at the captain trying to decipher the wry smile on his features. Steve's hand on his stomach trailed up Tony's chest, fingers dragging slowly over the plating of the reactor, until his palm connected with the side of the man's face drawing him closer to place an equally warm kiss against his mouth.

"I know I don't sleep usually, but for future references I enjoy at least four hours." Accepting another placid touch to his lips Tony's right hand came up to loosely grasp Steve's bicep, his other was trapped between their bodies.

"I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye." The blonde's voice was tenderer than Tony was expecting.

"You're leaving?" His muddled brain tried to rouse from its sleepy state to try and remember where Steve had to leave to. He knew it was selfish of him, but he really didn't want Steve to leave his spot on the couch as he was too comfortable to move.

"I have to get back to Fort Hamilton and then report to Director Fury at SHIELD headquarters." Through the past weeks bizarre happenings, Tony momentarily forgot that the soldier lying beside him was working with the U.S. Army National Guard to better prepare New York defenses against another attack like the one Loki's army had engaged in. The ten block radius of the battlefield had all but demolished the tall buildings that seemed to touch the sky. Many civilians lost their lives that day and as a part of the Army's further involvement with working with SHIELD they were working on methods to better safeguard their state. "Go back to sleep, Tony." Steve leaned in again and drew Tony into a lingering kiss before pulling away, extracting their tangled limbs and allowing the chilled air of the tower to waft over Tony's bare skin.

"Bye Cap." Struggling with the thought that Steve was leaving again, Tony watched from his prone position Steve quietly head to the stairs and head down toward the garage. _Be safe…_

He lay there starring at the spot where he last saw Steve's retreating back, forcing himself to stay and not run after the blonde. Tony was still confused as hell as to what was going on between them, but the feelings and emotions that he had long locked away in the deepest parts of himself were slowly surfacing once again, making him vulnerable to the hurtful actions most people carried about them. Part of the reason why relationships with Tony Stark didn't work out was because he never allowed himself to see the ladies as nothing more than a friend with a special little benefit. He created this persona in college after the death of his mother and father, because if you didn't care then it wouldn't hurt nearly as bad when that person was ripped from your life or they simply just walked out. Quickly forcing himself to his bare feet, unwilling to simply allow Steve to walk away, he moved to follow the blonde through the elevator opposite the kitchen. He had to follow to know what these feelings swimming around in his body were; he just had to know if Steve felt the same.

His chest felt tight, knowing that Steve was leaving him for another period of time. Quickly moving around the island, Tony's foot slammed down on one of the larger shards of the broken glass faltering his balance and crashing him into the island. His head connected with the hard oak as his body slid from out from under him, landing him on the jagged edges of the shards on the floor. He cried out, as the pain spread like wild fire across his back and over his shoulders. His head felt like it was going to explode as he could hear his own blood pulsating behind his ears. Pressing his hand into the floor, making a meager attempt to push himself back up, Tony hissed as the glass cut into his palm crippling his weight and crashing him back to the floor.

"Steve…" He groaned, hoping by chance that the super soldiers hearing would be amazing enough to hear Tony's whispered cry for help from where ever he was at this point. As much as he argued with his body to move, to go after Steve, Tony found his brain signals weren't making it to his limb body, leaving his appendages feeling numb. His chest tightened, knowing he lost his chance to intercept the blonde soldier before he left. His labored breathing left him breathless and light headed before his eyes slipped closed, submitting himself into the throes of darkness.

xXxXx

It was all over the news. After receiving a distress call from Jarvis, Pepper and Rhodey were at Stark Tower just as fast as the hounding media and the medics from the New York Fire Department. Happy, Tony's head of security intercepted the two and lead them up to the penthouse where they watched the medic's work diligently to stop the bleeding from the wound on Tony's head as well as wrapping his hand and applying gauze to the exposed wounds on the genius' back. Pepper looked down at her already ringing phone with distaste as she easily recognized the numbers from a few reporters that frequently phoned her when a big news story was about to break the papers about Tony Stark. With an aggravated sigh, wishing the reporters would mind their own business; she excused herself from her fiancé's side to berate the person on the other end of the phone. Rhodey crossed his arms and gave Happy a pointed look.

"What happened?"

"I have my guys looking into it now." Leaving Happy's side, Rhodey moved to stand behind one of the medics to watch them poke and prod at his unconscious friend. His eyes narrowed in on the dark bruise on the man's shoulder, before taking in all the cuts the glass had caused.

One of the medics moved around to Tony's head, holding his neck in line with the rest of his body so the dark haired medic by his chest moved to strap a cervical collar on. The third one brought their Stryker over, pulling off the back board and proceeded to assist his two partners in log rolling Tony carefully onto the hard board. Watching with a critical eye as the three lifted Tony onto the cot, Rhodey felt himself breathe a little easier when his friend's eyes cracked open. Stepping between the working medics, as they strapped him in, Rhodey grasped Tony's hand loosely drawing his attention to him. "Do you like giving me a heart attack?"

Tony didn't respond, his eyes looking past Rhodey to the blonde medic working beside him. His dark eyes zeroed in, willing the man to look at him, acknowledge him in some way or another. "Steve, you—"

"Tony," Rhodey brought the man's attention back to his face. The blonde medic beside him glanced at Colonel Rhodes in a confused manner before moving down to secure the straps around his patient's legs. "Tony, Steve isn't here. Come back to me buddy."

"Sir, you're more than welcome to come with us in the med unit, but we need to get him into the ER for an MRI. Mr. Stark needs hospital attention." She smiled sadly, adjusting her flight helmet under her arm while looking at the squad members and instructing to take Tony to the landing platform where he would be med-flighted to Lincoln Medical. "Are you coming with him?" She glanced over to Pepper, watching her pace around the living room, yelling in hushed tones very unladylike words that Rhodey rarely heard leave her mouth.

"We'll drive down. Thanks for the offer." Nodding his head as a courtesy to the woman, Rhodey ran over to Tony who had his eyes still glued on the blonde Fire-Medic. "Pepper, Happy and I will meet you at the ER, Tony. Just relax and we will sort this out." Offering a final comforting squeeze to his hand, the military colonel stopped following just outside the landing zone where a helicopter was waiting to transport the barely conscious Tony Stark.

Pepper came up behind her fiancé, cradling the hand that was holding onto Tony to her chest before looking at him with sad eyes. The chopper elevated off the roof, ready for takeoff, and whipped her long red hair about their faces and rustling their neatly pressed clothing. Turning once the carrier was just out of sight to head back inside Rhodey pulled Pepper closer to his side and placed a kiss to her temple. "You okay?" He asked softly, just loud enough for her to hear.

"I'm fine; I just worry about him now that I'm not around. He's like a child sometimes, his irresponsibility, brash actions, and inability to think things through before acting upon them." Passing by the kitchen, where a few of the house cleaning people where cleaning up the glass and blood from the accident, Pepper forced herself to look away from where her former boss lay only minutes ago. "He won't hire another assistant, and refuses to move back into his estate across town. I can't worry about him and then worry about myself now." Stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the garage level Pepper leaned heavily onto Rhodey.

Placing his hand over her stomach, Colonel Rhodes leaned in to softly kiss his fiancé. "We'll get through this." They had to for the sake of their little messed up family. Family always took care of each other; stressful or not. Rhodey wasn't about to abandon Tony.

xXxXx

Tony rubbed his fingers over his temples, worrying away the forming headache forming behind his eyes, resonating from the back of his head. If he hadn't struck the back of his head on the hardware on the island Tony figured he would have just been and out of the ER that night in less than a few hours. However after sustaining double trauma to the back of his head, resulting in whiplash, and cracking his head several times Tony found himself drugged up in the hospital for three days of observation. Happily back home, and under the care of an in home doctor that came by every afternoon to check on Tony's condition, Tony sat tiredly at his work station, violating his doctor's orders of sleep. He had Happy bring over the old hard-drive Steve had dropped off from the Tower to his home just off of Lake Ontario where he was supposed to be bedridden and resting.

It had been five long days since the soldier had dropped off the tech, and Tony couldn't focus on anything other than figuring out if the data was salvageable from the crispy hardware, or even if the information on the device was pertinent to SHIELD's investigation into the HYDRA base. He connected the device to a power supply, and then a bunch of other smaller wires to the mainframe of his home computer. Tony's fingers flicked over the wireframes of the files before settling on the first file and opening it to find a lazy HYDRA operative's attempt at hiding their work-porn. Whoever the hard-drive came from, the person was obliviously into some freaky and kinky things with the ladies. Closing the file, he moved to the next.

The better part of his afternoon was spent fingering through the files, and reading up on HYDRA's research on the Tesseract and extraterrestrial Chitauri army. How they got the bodies of some of the fallen alien race was still a mystery, as SHIELD had assured the Avengers that all the fallen bodies of the Chitauri had been recovered and destroyed. Either Director Fury lied—which was highly probable—or someone didn't cross their T's or dot their I's. With the power of the Tesseract, combined with some old Hammer technology, it appeared HYDRA was looking to infuse aspects from the alien race into their agents. The why was still very unclear—the means to the end in their little off shore project—but from the looks of things before the HYDRA base had blown up, HYDRA was well on their way into the first phases of their testing regiment on prison convicts.

Leaning back in his chair, Tony fought against the exhaustion ebbing away at his conscious attempting to focus on the work in front of him. There were still some files left to be read through, and even more work to be completed on his MARK suit which was in various stages of reconstruction. Never mind the body armor development Stark Industries was getting ready to launch at the end of the month to the marketing division, as well as a new series of low impact weapons constructed out of recycled materials for the United States police officers and military personnel. There was a never ending list of hippie funded new technology that would propel this generation into the future. Overall, Tony Stark had too much work to do to be sitting around, stuck in bed due to some minor bump to the head, and even when all his work would be done there would always be more to do. Running his hand through his hair, hissing as his fingers brushed over the ten stitches to the back of his head, the engineer felt another wave of sleepiness wash over his body, courtesy of the antibiotics and analgesics coursing through his veins.

Dropping his head down onto the surface of his workbench, cradled by his arms, the genius starred at the wireframe files and could only wonder where Steve had disappeared to. He left the stupid hard drive in Tony's care with no instructions on how to get it back to him with whatever he found out. This was defiantly not one of Captain America's finer moments. Seeing as how no one had bothered him about it for the last four days, Tony figured one more day couldn't hurt and closed his eyes with the thought of the blonde captain still at the forefront of his thoughts.

He failed himself and he failed Steve. Why he thought chasing after the soldier would change anything was a mystery to him but Tony knew he just couldn't let the soldier leave without something. Whatever that something was, he never got it and now five days later Tony was really wishing he hadn't cracked his head open and missed his chance to give Steve whatever that something was. Even if he had made it down to the garage there was no guarantee that Steve would have stayed, if he even wanted to stay; Tony couldn't blame him. Who would want to stay around a man like Tony Stark? Obviously Pepper didn't as she left his side, and his position as personal assistant/CEO of Stark Industries. It felt like a divorce when she left, she took the kids—both Rhodey and Happy—and all of Tony with her. Thankfully Happy stayed behind, but Tony had a feeling it had to do with the pay increased he offered to the man if he stayed of as Site Supervisor over the Security Director position. It was evident that no one wants to be affiliated with Tony, so why was Steve stringing him along like a puppet?

Thoughts left the genius' mind, abandoning all reason and damning him to darkness of his nightmares. Falling into a restless sleep, hunched over his desk with his head cradled in his arms, the man was none the wiser to the lurking trespassers back at Stark Tower rummaging through all his hidden compartments, leaving chaos in their wake.

xXxXx

A/N I'm thinking of changing the summary to this, as the story has kind of suddenly taken on a life of its own. Thinking, but we'll see as I'm not sure yet. I know this chapter lacked what most of you really want, I'm sorry, I'm working on it and I promise next chapter will be better about that (as this story is pretty much about a confused Tony and an even more confusing Steve who just can't keep his hands to himself). I absolutely love all your comments you guys are leaving me, it really motivates the innovative thinking as well as seeing all the alerts and subscriptions. I can't thank you all enough for that as this story is pushing me way out of my comfort writing zone. So even if I don't personally write you back from your review, please know that I do appreciate all reviews. Thanks guys!


	4. Chapter 4

It was a soothing circular motion on his back that jarred the genius awake. The comforting motion reminded him of something his mother used to do when he was younger, putting the brunette as ease when rousing him from his sleep. Turning his head and expecting to see Steve standing behind him, Tony was put off at the sight of Clint wearing a very concerned expression. The agent showing any sort of emotion, something other than raw anger during a fight, was something the archer just didn't do and to see that look plastered on his face placed an unsettling feeling in the pit of Tony's stomach. The fact that the archer's bow was in his hand, ready for immediate use, did nothing to further ease the queasy feeling. "Have you seen the headlines yet?" Clint appeared out of breath, his chest heaving, like he had been sprinting.

Tony wanted to retort with a smartass comment, as only moments ago the blonde had awaken him from a light slumber, but held it in favoring learning what had the spy so worked up about. Yawning, Tony dragged a ragged hand through his hair, scratching momentarily at his hair line. Shaking his head, Tony reached for the tablet on the counter behind Clint and flipped to the local news station. The unsettled feeling in his stomach plummeted like a rock in water, washing a sickening feeling over Tony. There was eyewitness cell phone footage of when the penthouse quarter of Stark Tower blew out the glass from the force of a blast followed by a large mushroom cloud of carbon dioxide billowing out from the inferno at the highest level of Stark Tower. Tony's jaw was slack against its hinge, gaping at the terror of the footage caught from the ground by a civilian.

"When did this happen?" No longer half asleep, Tony pushed himself up to his feet and was moving across the room drawing data from the many surfaces around his lab as to get feedback moments before the flames engulfed the entire upper floors. Clint looked like he wanted to say something while Tony barked orders at Jarvis, demanding security access reports, but he just moved aside and allowed the genius to work. His eyes were scanning over the news footage when suddenly a reporter's face caught Tony's attention as someone was rolled out of the wreckage on a cot. A white sheet covered the person's identity, but the heading at the bottom of the screen locked a breath of air in Tony's throat.

"—the death of Tony Stark—"

Whoever, or whatever, caused the blast was after Tony. Sinking back into his chair, Tony looked at Clint who was furiously jabbing his fingers into the screen on his phone. Tony would venture as far as to say it was a text message to someone at SHIELD. His steely blue eyes fixated on Tony's, an emotion surging in the back of his dark irises that rooted Tony to his spot. "How long have you been here?" The archer's voice was tight.

"A day or so; the elevation of the tower wasn't helping my head any." Tony watched Clint's eyes flash back to the screen where the nerdy looking reporter was breaking the news to the world that Tony Stark was dead. "You thought it was really me, didn't you?"

Clint's calm behavior made a complete one-eighty. His arm swung out to strike an instrument on the surface of one of the counters in Tony's lab, sending it clear across the room where it landed with a clatter against the metal molding of the door frame. "We all thought it was you!" The blonde snapped angrily. The hand cradling his phone, forced the device down onto the table behind him. His hands shook with anticipation against the unknown threat that was after one of his own teammates. The pregnant pause that followed was deafening as the thought occurred to Tony that he was now a wanted man. "Agent Barton," Clint spoke into his Bluetooth. "Director Fury, I found him."

The face of Nick Fury appeared on the many hallo screens Tony had up looking slightly relieved that one of his pet Avengers was still alive. The chaos behind the man was a little out of sorts, as Tony could see agents dressed in black running from computer to computer holding papers and exchanging them for information from the operators perspective. Usually their base headquarters was a calm atmosphere, no matter how urgent the call was. "It's good to see you well, Stark."

"I've been worse," Tony admitted wondering if Fury was privy to his recent hospitalization. "Do we know yet who caused the attack on the tower or who the dead Stark imposter is?"

"We're still working—"

"—I see that, and I'm not stupid, Director." Turning back to his work station, Tony flicked his fingers over the wire frames with vigor. "Either you save me the trouble of hacking into SHIELD again and tell me or I'll find it out the hard way." Setting up a ghost file to attack the firewall, Tony's action's suddenly faltered as the lights flickered out, blanketing the two Avengers in an uncomfortable darkness that reminded Tony too much of the darkness of the cave back in Afghanistan.

Tony's hands instantly felt his wrists, searching for the bracelets that were a homing beacon for his armor. Finding that they weren't there, he remembered that he was supposed to be working on the upgrades to increase the distance and reactionary time for the armor to mold around his body. Swallowing back a lump in his throat, Tony remained frozen in his seat knowing that there was someone else in the room with them as he could hear additional breaths about himself and Clint. A wisp of air tickled the back of his neck, shaking Tony to his very core. Up on his feet, he quickly pulled off his black thermal and threw it in the direction the breeze had come from. Turning to angle the white-blue light from the reactor at their assailant, Tony backed up against the same counter Clint had been leaning against and watched in terror as their attacker struggled to rid themselves of the article of thrown clothing.

The familiar sound of Clint drawing his bow string taunt pulled Tony from his stupor. The person appeared to be humanoid at best, but the thick scaly skin of the Chitauri race made Tony think otherwise that this creature before him was one of HYDRA's test subjects. "He's not human anymore, Clint!" The words were more than enough encouragement for the archer to allow his arrow to fly at the mindless beast, hitting it square in the chest with one of his blasting tips. Pushing Tony's body down into a kneeling position so his body could act as a shield, Clint covered his head with his arms in time for the science experiment gone wrong's insides to splatter across his back.

"We have to get out of here." Pulling Tony to his feet, Clint's hand slipped off Tony's solid stance as they pulled apart; Clint moving towards the exit and Tony moving quickly to fumble with the device Steve had given him. "Come on, you idiot!" Curling his fingers around Tony's wrist, Clint broke out into an awkward run with Tony dragging behind.

He was barely able to keep up with the marksman's quick pace when he wasn't injured, but the fast movements coupled with the flashing of his reactor only seemed to intensify the swirling images before his eyes. The hard drive cradled under his arm weighed heavily on his weakened state, pulling him down to rest on his knees at the top of the stairs. An angry Clint yelling after him to get up when a Chitauri dropped from the ceiling, landing only a few feet away from Tony's crumbling form. Firing another arrow into the extraterrestrial, the blonde archer landed a devastating punch to the creatures flank and watched with confusion as it rolled down the grand staircase at the front of the house. Standing vigilant over Tony, ready for another to attack, Clint quickly pulled a quill from his pack with lightening proficiency and took aim to the darkness behind them. Firing into the darkness, the agent growled in frustration as the sound of his arrow clattering against the wall infiltrated his ears urging him to pull another until the dimly illuminated face of Captain Rogers and Black Widow came into their immediate vision. Lowering the tip of his weapon, Clint took a large breath to calm his nerves. "I'm really happy to see you two."

"What's going on?" Natasha pressed, wanting to know more about their darkened situation rather than talk about how happy they were to see each other. Though her eyes were fixed on a very alive Tony, she could help her wandering hand as it reached out to lightly touch his shoulder momentarily, reassuring herself that he was alive.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Clint replied with an annoyed tone.

Steve knelt down to Tony's level ignoring the chatter between the two agents in front of him, his hands instantly moving to steady the uneasy bobbing of the engineer's head as he found to remain conscious against the drugs in his system. "Tony, come on, look at me." The weight of Tony's body in his hands became marginally heavier as the engineer passed in and out of his conscious state, never seeing Steve but only able to focus on the swirling images flashing before his eyes.

"Hawkeye…" his voice trailed off, his brain finally shutting down against his own will. Catching Tony's limp body in his arms, Steve maneuvered the man so his head would be cradled against his chest when he noticed the black box in the engineer's hands. Pulling it free, he held it in the light of the reactor to gain a better perspective.

"What is that?" Natasha asked. Her smaller hands reacted out to take the box so Steve could stand with Tony in his arms.

"He went back for it earlier," Hawkeye admitted slowly. "I have no idea what it is. Is it a part of his MARK suits?" Natasha shrugged, looking from Clint to Steve with a critical eye.

"It's why the Chitauri are after him. We need to get him out of here and to a SHIELD safe house." Following their captain out the way he and Natasha came in, neither agent questioned his information but followed like faithful dogs knowing they would be filled in on a need to know basis.

xXxXx

Bolting upright, Tony clutched painfully at his chest to feel the cool metal under his fingertips. Covered in a cold sweat, the engineer fought to forget the horrible feeling that the darkness brought with it. His chest clutched tightly at the horrific memory of being trapped in the darkened nightmare laboring his breathing and making his chest heavy painfully. As much as he wanted to curl his fingers deeper into the chilled metal plating in his chest, Tony didn't trust himself to not accidently eject the reactor from its chamber. Disentangling himself from the sheets, wondering where he was, the engineer swung his legs over the side of the bed to tentatively feel the cool hard wood flooring under his bare feet. Last he remembered he was in his lake side home, working on the—Clint!

He wobbled once his weight was balanced on his feet. Tentatively reaching his hand out in the darkened room, Tony sighed in relief when his fingers found the edge of the bed side table. Steadying himself he slowly padded across the room to open the bedroom door and stand in the threshold. He had no idea where he was as the old style plastering on the walls was something all his modern homes didn't have in them. Looking left and right down the hall, the genius followed the sound of the hushed voices to his right. Every step he took caused the old wooden flooring to creak and groan with the added weight. Staying close to the wall, so his steps wouldn't be so loud as if he had walked down the middle, he held his breath and prayed he was with safe company. Tony's hands caressed the dusty surface of the banister at the mouth of the stairs where the voices were coming from and from his closer vantage point he could clearly hear the higher pitch voice of Natasha's Russian accent, the soft gravelly voice Bruce carried with him when he was exhausted, and even the smart ass comments from Clint as he interjected into their conversation every so often. The only distinguishable voice among the group was Thor's as even in a hushed whisper his voice was still louder than a crack of thunder across a stormy sky.

It was difficult to decipher what their hushed words were as he was mostly gathering what Thor's thunderous voice carried up the stairs. Leaving heavily against the banister, trying to hear the hushed voices over the ringing in his ears, Tony realized that bending himself so far over the rail wasn't a smart idea as the old wood creaked louder than the floorboards. Easing himself back onto his feet, Tony ignored the weak feeling in his body as he placed one foot at the top of the steps. His vision crossed, crippling his balance and sending his body momentum forward. Reaching out to grab the rail or the old banister, Tony sighed when a familiar solid body slammed into his own catching him at an awkward angle at the top of the stairs. The genius was sure the other Avengers downstairs could hear their scuffle but didn't particularly care as Steve's strong arms seemed to squeeze all the tension from his body. The man's smell alone was enough to put Tony's hyperactive mind at ease.

If it wasn't the soldier's pungent natural odor it was surely the fast paced kisses the blonde was peppering his mouth with. Steve righted their bodies, standing at the top of the stairs with Tony leaving heavily against his strong frame, sealing kiss after sloppy kiss over the slighter man's mouth. Tony's fingers slowly curled in the soft fabric of Steve's T-shirt that was stretched tight over the expanse of the man's flawless skin and pulled to try and bring himself closer to the heat that Steve's body offered. Whereas Tony's skin held a chill to the texture Steve's body was smoldering against his own, already sweating slightly from the heat they were creating between themselves. Surrendering into Steve's dominant nature over him, Tony allowed his mouth to slide off Steve's soft lips to rest his throbbing head against Steve's solid chest. "Tony, you okay?" Even though Steve's voice was nothing but a whisper it still sounded like a gunshot had gone off in his ear.

Whimpering, he knew he was drawing the super soldier into a high alert state of mind as his hands trailed over the expanse of his exposed chest and back searching from the source of pain causing the engineer such grief. Steve's hands created a hot trail as they cascaded over his tense muscles, working the tender flesh as he went searching for the thing that was causing Tony such discomfort. Pressing his face into the side of Steve's neck, he instantly retracted as his stitches rubbed unpleasantly over Steve's shirt. The glow of the reactor casted the perfect glow off of Steve's face to allow Tony to see the worry etched over the man's features. Pressing a soft kiss to Tony's mouth, Steve's arm lowered itself around the brunette's body to gently pick him up just under his hips. Using his other arm to keep the man steady, Steve worked effortlessly back down the hall and towards the dark room where Tony emerged from.

Deftly clicking the lamp on from one of the bedside tables, Steve eased Tony's apprehensive body back down onto the sheets. He could see his own exhaustion mirrored in Tony's pale features and couldn't help but allow his fingers to trail over his face to lightly tip his head to get a better view of the angry stitching on the back of the man's head. Counting all ten to himself, the blonde released a sigh before gently climbing over Tony's body, minding himself and trying not to bump the engineer too much, and molding their sides together. Reaching down to pull the heavy winter blankets up around Tony, Steve leaned in to place a softer kiss against his already kiss swollen lips. "What happened?"

Tony curled into Steve's side, enjoying the company of the other's body pressed firmly against his own. To answer the blondes question, Tony had no idea where to start because he wasn't sure what instance his captain was referencing to; the concussion, the hard drive, or the attack on the tower and even the invasion on his home. If he wasn't so drugged up and his head didn't feel like it was about to split in two, Tony had a few quips ready at the tip of his tongue to fire back at the vague question. Grumbling as a response instead of starting a fight, Tony burrowed deeper into Steve's side. "I don't know," he admitted slowly.

Slowly dragging his palm over Tony's bare backside under the blanket, Steve placed a docile kiss against Tony's exposed neck, his lips lightly worrying the yellowing of the bruise Steve had previously marked the engineer with. It had been just over two weeks since he caught Tony toying with himself in the confines of his lab, but to the soldier it felt just like yesterday; the way Tony felt writhing against him, panting with desperate want, and calling his name out. Everything seemed to be at the forefront of the soldiers thoughts that he had to wondering if those around him knew the dirty thoughts that crossed his mind. His mouth made a hot trail up from Tony's exposed shoulder up to his jaw and pivoting to make a beeline back to his supple lips that felt like a drug to Steve. His hand left Tony's back, coming up to lightly frame his face. "I thought I lost you, today." He murmured against Tony's lips before gently reaching out to close the marginal gap between them.

Tasting the words in his mouth, Tony opened his eyes with annoyance as Steve kept interrupting him with inconsequential words that Tony would rather swallow than understand at the current moment. "I wasn't hurt, the stitches were from an incident a few days prior." While it was true that he wasn't hurt in the explosion, or even the attack on he and Clint in his home, Tony felt his words coming across as a hurtful jab at Steve who wasn't there for his hospital stay. "I'll be fine."

"What happened?" Steve's brain wasn't as sleep addled as Tony's, "that happened after I gave you the hard drive?"

"It's no big deal," Tony whimpered; the pain in his head growing tenfold. Pressing his forehead harder against Steve's neck in hopes the new pressure would alleviate the pulsating pain surging through his head.

"You have stitches in your head, I thought you had died in the explosion at Stark Tower, and then I come to find you with Clint at some house clear across town under attack from those—my point is I can't stand the thought of something happening to you." Tony's eyes flicked to Steve's serious face, wondering if this was the answer he had been searching for in the last few weeks. Pushing himself slightly away from the blonde Tony fixed him with a scrutinizing glare until his features softened and he was able to lie back down against the warm body and scratchy sheets.

"Things happen all the time, Cap," Tony mumbled. "Unlike you, Thor and Bruce the rest of our days are numbered." A frown pulled at Tony's mouth as he referenced everyone else who wasn't infused with godlike or scientific enhancers. "Someday we will be gone." Closing his eyes, Tony easily slipped back into a sleep induced state that warranted a promise for a better tomorrow.

Steve's grip tightened on a slumbering Tony, unwilling to allow the shield his arms created move from around the brunette. He didn't understand his actions most of the time when it came to the hotheaded genius and mostly he found himself wanting to argue with Tony's arrogant attitude. But the emotions he had swimming in the pit of his stomach off set the anger with lust and something else that Steve couldn't identify with, but he just knew he couldn't allow anything to happen to the man laying asleep in his arms. The thought of Tony no longer being there to offer a rude comment, roll his eyes at Steve's oblivious nature to modern jokes, or even just his presence was enough to set Steve on edge. If he could, without hurting Tony, he would tighten his grip around Tony's body. Instead he opted for lightly peppering Tony's sensitive spots on his neck with feather light kisses and whispering all the things he wanted to say to the man in a wakeful state. Resting his head against his own pillow, Tony's body moving subconsciously with his movement, Steve closed his eyes against the dim lap light and drifted off into sleep knowing Tony was safe by his side.

xXxXx

A/N Yay! We finally got an idea of what's going on through Steve's head. I went back and reread everything and didn't realize up until now that this story took a dark turn, and I'm sorry for that because it was supposed to be a light hearted idea but fear not now that they have some things sorted out things will start to pick up once again. I'm really sorry about that, and hopefully I can make it up to you in the next chapter. That being said, this is the reason it took me a little while longer to post as I probably had to rewrite the second part more than three times. Leave a review guys and let me know what your think! Your continuous support means a lot, and it's also a great motivational booster.

P.s. I have a new plot bunny running rampant through my head, so keep a look out for a new story. I know, I know… I have too many going at once as it is, but I promise I will finish this as I don't see myself abandoning it any time soon.


	5. Chapter 5

If it were possible, Tony wanted to wake up every morning pressed firmly into Steve's side using his chest as the world's most comfortable pillow in the world. The position the engineer awoke in was nothing short of awkward, half draped over the super soldier with their limbs entangled in a mess among the sheets and bedding, but as awkward as it was Tony couldn't bring himself to move away from the heat Steve's body radiated. Steve's fingers were lightly massaging his scalp, slowly bringing the groggy mind of Tony Stark into the world of the living and away from the drug induced state he had been floating in for the last several days. Without the edge the medication gave him Tony surely felt more awake than he had before, but it also brought around the consistent dull ache that seemed to pulsate through his skull and down his spine then burning out into every nerve in his body. Resisting the urge to reach up and scratch at the healing stitches Tony moved to stretch against Steve, accidently knocking him in the face with his arm. "Sorry," he murmured. Turning his head to look carefully into Steve's cobalt eyes he was relieved to see that Steve didn't look the least bit upset, only amused by Tony's childish antics.

"It's fine," he replied softly. Bringing his hand around to slowly tip Tony's chin up, Steve craned his neck to claim a soft kiss from the man's chapped lips. Pulling away when he felt his bedmate stiffen under his touch, Steve fixed Tony with a look of concern. "Tony?"

"Morning breath," he mumbled into Steve's grey cotton tee trying to hide the vulgar smell of his breath that plagued him in the early morning. Breathing deeply in the scent that wafted off the cotton material, Tony couldn't help but think it was the most amazing smell in the world; something of a wintery forest and fresh cut grass on an autumn morning. The outdoor smell fitted the soldier perfectly in Tony's mind.

Steve chuckled to himself before drawing the man's chin back up so their mouths could meet in a slow, chaste kiss. It was something short of a soft brush of their lips before Steve was manhandling Tony's limp body into a more comfortable position higher up on his body. Cheek resting against his clavicle Steve hummed in content as all he had to do to steal a kiss was tilt his head and their mouths would instantly meet. "Don't care," he replied in a sleep drawn voice reminding them both of just how exhausted they still were.

Whereas Steve wasn't doped up on medications, he had been working tirelessly the last week or so trying to infiltrate the agency that was privy to the HYRDA test lab and effectively shut the project down. He was actually on his way to Stark Tower to see if Tony had learned anything from the hard-drive their recovery team found when the crackle of the radio in his truck brought his attention away from seeing the boisterous genius to the current news reel that was running on the emergency broadcasting system that all traffic heading North of 54th Street was being rerouted west to Broad as a means to bypass the blasting zone that the damage had created. Beside the first responders who were busy ushering pedestrians and a fire rescue brigade, Steve was the first SHIELD agent on site.

There was a minor argument between himself and the battalion chief creating a post command as to whether or not he could enter in along with the rescue team, but eventually the man relented and allowed Steve to enter along with his guys. By the time the team breeched the main doors multiple rescue crews were surrounding the larger than life building, ready to deploy their guys to head in and assist were they could. Steve could still remember the tight feeling in his chest when his initial sweep of the building only brought up a few late night employees and not the main engineer for the company. It would be eight long hours later until a phone call would come to his earpiece from Hawkeye that he had found Tony in one of his lakeshore front homes across town that over looked Ontario. Steve didn't breathe easy again until he saw the brunette for himself, only then did the tightness in his chest disappear.

It was one thing after another the last month that kept Steve on his toes, and the only thing he felt he could fall back on with the brunette who was drawing lazy patterns into his cotton tee. One distinct pattern Steve recognized with the five, thirty-degree pivoting points that created a star while the others were more complex and didn't make much sense to the soldier. Steve had a sneaking suspicion that they were equations as some of the finger strokes felt like numbers mixed with letters matching some of the print-off's he'd seen laying around Tony's lab from time to time. The soft caresses were welcomed as they lulled Steve into a sense of peace and would surely put him back to sleep in a matter of minutes but with a sidelong glance towards the digital clock perched on a dresser that was across the room he knew he had to force the brunette out of bed so they could move to a more secure location other than the dodgy safe house they were currently holed up in. The strokes were becoming less prominent against his shirt and when Steve looked down to see a slumbering Tony he swallowed back a sigh of annoyance.

"Tony," he cooed softly. "We have to get up." Bringing his hand back up to work his long fingers to Tony's hair, Steve pressed a kiss to the man's forehead in hopes of jarring him from his slumber.

"Says who?" The genius shot back, clearly annoyed that Steve woke him up once again.

"I need to get you back to head quarters so we can get a look at that hard-drive and figure out who these guys are before they attack again. We can't stay here, Tony, it's not safe." Finding it hard to believe the exhausted conviction in his own voice, Steve found himself slowly closing his own eyes against his own words.

"The team is all here, Cap, we'll be fine." Inching his way back down Steve's body to lay his head back over Steve's chest so his ear was once again pressed against the man's heart, Tony listened to the soft cadence of the strong heartbeat that pulsated through Steve's body, pumping blood and oxygen to the man's vital organs. "You should get some sleep while you can, old man, you look worse than I do."

"I find that hard to believe." A smile played at his lips, something that had been a rare occurrence over the last week, as he laid his head back against the soft dip of his pillow. "Have you seen yourself lately?" It was a light hearted joke, they both knew it, but it only reminded both men that they had been stretched thin when it came to their personal health and they were long overdue for some time off. A good few days sleep, hot shower, and a nice hot meal was in Steve's immediate future once they got an injured Tony back to the safety of SHIELD's main headquarters where as Tony was itching to get back to his projects to calm his scattered mind down.

They were both on the verge of falling asleep once again when a loud creek of the old door jarred both men awake, setting Steve on high alert as someone was coming into the room. The glow of the early morning sun peeking through the shade was enough to illuminate Bruce's face and set Steve back at ease. Adjusting his glasses over the bridge of his nose, the doctor looked over the tangled mess of his two comrade's and found himself wondering where Tony's body ended and Steve's began as their bodies seemed to be molded to perfection against the others. "I came up to get you two so we could make it back while it's still early. Director Fury called last night and scheduled us for a meeting as soon as we get back to base."

Steve studied Bruce for a long moment, trying to decipher the knowing look he bestowed upon the two, before nodding his head back at his teammate. "We'll be down in a few, thanks Banner." If the doctor had a problem with their current position, he didn't dare comment on it though Steve had a sneaking suspicion he was going to get grilled later for details as to what was going on between himself and Tony. As Bruce disappeared on the other side of the door Steve looked down to a barely awake Tony wondering himself why he felt the need to always touch him, draw him closer, and even steal the hungry kisses that the man was so willing to give him. Helping Tony into a sitting position, a crooked smile graced his face at the pillow creased hair on Tony's head. Leaning forward he claimed the man's lips against his own before rolling out of bed.

A-V-E-N-G-E-R-S

For some reason, Tony felt like he was sitting in detention when the team assembled in one of Director Fury's briefing offices. Between all the life-threatening danger Tony found inflicted upon his life in the last few weeks he had been a little busy. Instead of completing the analysis, something none of Fury's tech's could dream of accomplishing as they had difficulties most days how to hack their way out of a wet paper bag, Tony was only able to present a portion of the files. "Other than the bad porn, there wasn't much on the drive that you don't already seem to know."

"But what does HYDRA want with Chitauri infused soldiers?" Natasha had an annoyed look on her face as she leaned back against the office chair, her eyes fixed pointedly on Tony and Steve.

Working his fingers over the frames of his grid, Tony enlarged the figure before moving it up onto the main screen so the other Avengers could see what he saw, a series of zero's and one's. From his side, Tony could feel Steve's confused gaze as he starred at the code on the screen. "One sec," he commented Steve's baited question. Moving his fingers around on the smaller wireframes before him on his computer grid, the code on the screen slowly started to look more like the German language. "Jarvis, run a German to English software." Within moments the files that Tony had already dug through were legible for Tony and Bruce to understand. Thor who was scratching his head at all the scientific terms floating on the screen looked between the director and the two scientists who shared an understanding of what was happening on the screen.

"I see what they are doing." Bruce pushed himself to his feet and moved around to awkwardly place his fingers of a data sheet in one of the corners to bring it into a finer focus before him. "By genetically infusing their convict test-subjects with the Chitauri DNA, it looks like HYDRA was looking to transfer the alien races special abilities into their soldiers."

"Again with the world domination?" Clint groaned from his relaxed position in his chair. "Looks like they lost interest in you, Stevie." Steve shrugged at the archer, not particularly concerned that they weren't after him but a little confused at the nickname.

"Is it possible for our enemy to do this?" Thor questioned slowly, his mind already processing the possibilities of what a human would look like with a Chitauri aspect. "The Chitauri are not that intelligent—"

"—which is why the test subject's who attacked us at the house weren't all that coordinated." Highlighting a series of graphs that monitored the soldiers brain activity, Tony exploded the view so multiple sheets were floating around the table. "The soldiers lost most of their cognitive thinking skills and basically became mindless killing slaves. It looks like they removed the emotion element to the human mind. In another report it showed the delayed reactions from their nerves to get to their brain, so not only were they emotionless but also don't feel pain."

"So I can play target practice all day and it would affect them?" Clint scratched his head, his mind not used to the scientific terms and theory being tossed around the room. His area of expertise lied in his field handler telling him who to watch, what to kill, and when to be back at base by for the next mission rather than fully understanding his enemy's logic. "Well that sucks."

"Tony and I can finish the inventory of the remainder of this information and summarize it in a report, sir." The director seemed pleased with Bruce's conclusion to the situation as SHIELD was still in the dark as to who got the jump on their target before they were able to act.

"An excellent idea," he drawled. "The rest of you rest up, Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark have a lot of work ahead of them."

"Um, Director Fury," Steve called as his hand slipped under the table in search of Tony's knee. Nick turned just enough so his head was cocked to the side allowing his uncovered eye to glare at his team leaders apparent disagree to the plan at hand. "Can't this research wait a few hours? Banner looks just as exhausted as the rest of us and Stark is still recovering."

"Good idea, Cap," Tony patted Steve's shoulder. "Bruce, you go get some sleep and join me when you can. I can start cataloging everything and—"stifling a yawn, using his hand to cover his failed attempt Tony allowed his mouth to continue on. The team was tired after a rescue mission to find _him_. The least he could do was repay them by allowing his tired teammates a few hours to sleep, shower and get something to eat.

Steve starred in horror as Director Fury walked out of the room, agreeing to Tony's garbage about letting Banner rest and letting him work through the night. "Just so long as it gets done, the rest of you should get some sleep."

"Tony, I can help you with this." Bruce tried to reason, but with Tony suddenly up on his feet and shoving everyone out of the room and down the hall towards their sleeping quarters the rest of the team found it nauseating how forceful Tony was being.

Natasha and Clint went without cause, already knowing they would be more of nuisance to the remainder of the project, and pulled Thor with them knowing if they wouldn't be of much help then he would be more of a blockade than any of them. Steve however remained rooted to his spot behind Tony as he watched with a detached look of annoyance how the engineer pushed everyone away one by one. With a final assurance to Bruce that he could help later, Tony turned to head towards the lab in the lower levels. He knew Steve was hot on his heels and could already tell that the blonde wasn't going to be far from his side through this whole mission as their enemy had already attacked him twice. Foregoing the attempt to put the blonde to bed, Tony cleared off a chair for the blonde to sit in down in the lab in hopes that he would sit down and fall asleep on the table.

"Do you know how stupid you are being?" Steve snapped once they were alone in the lab.

"I thought I was being mature in making our friends sleep, but if that's stupid then I'm not sure what brilliance is anymore." Steve resisted the urge to smack himself on the forehead. "Besides, I can get this done before Bruce wakes up and then get back to work on the reconstruction of the MARK VII. If there's a fight ahead of us, I'm no use to you guys. So please, let me do this Steve." Turning to look up at Steve, Tony was startled to know that the blonde was only a few inches behind his heels.

"And what about you, Tony?" He asked softly, his arms already coming out to wrap protectively around the man's waist to steady his exhausted body. "You need to recover from your head injury, not work yourself into another one."

Tony's arms were trapped between their bodies, folded up so his hands were splayed out on Steve's broad chest. He tried to push the other away, but to no avail as without his suit Tony's strength was no match for Steve's enhanced force. Looking up into those cobalt eyes, his eyes fluttered shut when Steve placed a soft kiss on his lips. Pulling away, Tony took the opportunity to push Steve away slightly and offer his traditional shit eating grin. "I've been in worse shape than this, Steve, I'll be fine." Turning around, Tony was pleased to find the hard drive already sitting on the work bench waiting for him to work on the remainder of the files.

Steve leaned heavily onto one of the counters and just watched Tony work for over an hour. He was fighting his own exhaustion, but he wanted to stay awake incase Tony needed some help. Arms crossed over his chest, Steve felt like he was watching a lab rat run around a maze. The many screens flashing around the room did nothing to settle his swimming head as his exhaustion nipped wildly at his own heels. His head dropped a few times only to jerk back up. He knew Tony could sense how he was struggling, because when the genius stood up finally and turned to Steve he reached out to steady the wobbly soldier. Creating some space on one of the counters, Tony assisted the blonde in lying down on the hard surface. Removing his black SHIELD hoodie, Tony stuffed it under the blondes head and placed a soft kiss to his sleeping lips before returning to his work.

A-V-E-N-G-E-R-S


	6. Chapter 6

Sipping on his scalding hot mug of black coffee, the engineer made a face at how bitter the cheap sludge tasted sliding down his throat. How did these agents function using this stuff? Shaking his head in an attempt to rid his mouth of the god awful flavor, the engineer instantly regretted doing so as a mind numbing pain crippled his thought processing. Gripping the table to hold his equilibrium, Tony took a few calming breaths and waited for his head to stop throbbing; for his world to stop spinning. Tony made a mental note to never get a concussion ever again. God, he was tired.

His eyes scanned over the last few bits of information floating about on the screens, the last of the files that needed to be filtered and copied onto an additional source that wasn't beaten or burned. It had been just a little over six hours since Steve fell asleep on the counter behind him and in that time Tony had gotten more work done that he thought possible. Between himself and Jarvis, the two were an unstoppable team. Not only was his work on the hard drive nearly completed, but in the little down time he had the engineer was able to work on modifications to his MARK suit. Leaning back in his chair, Tony was feeling pretty badass and oddly enough turned on by his achievements. Glancing over his shoulder, making sure the door to the lab was still shut and that Steve was still asleep on the table Tony took the liberty of allowing his hand to slide down the front of his dark grey joggers.

Palming himself through the fabric, the genius released a sigh of relief. In the back of his mind he knew he shouldn't be doing this as he knew he was being recorded—but if necessary, he could hack in later to delete the file—and Steve was soundly sleeping behind him—not that this wasn't almost déjà vu. In desperate need to release his pent up frustration, Tony prayed the blonde soldier behind him would stay asleep long enough to allow himself to pop off a quickie. Sure Steve had given him a hand job and a good fingering a few weeks ago, but Tony wasn't about to sneak over to the counter and wake the captain up to fulfill his dirty needs. Leaning back in his office chair, right hand still firmly rubbing over his hardening front, Tony's eyes flicked back up to the screens where Jarvis continued to sort and restore the data. Besides, he still had work to complete and if Steve got involved he was pretty sure nothing would get done. There were still modifications to compile on the MARK upgrades.

"Well it looks like the phase one testing was a dud, all the convicts died." Tony mumbled to himself as he read the files trying to piece together all the information before he was to pass it off to Director Fury. Swallowing back another mouthful of the substance the government agency claimed to be a caffeinated beverage, his stomach churned making him feel like he was going to wretch all over the counter. Sliding the mug off to the side, Tony made a mental note to not drink it again. Making sure Jarvis was copping this data onto his personal server's, Tony's left hand moved about the screen rearranging the files into a more flowing order.

"_It does appear that way, sir." _Jarvis replied softly into the ear piece in Tony's right ear. _"The test subject from phases two through five were all the same, each subject died from organ failure and internal bleeding." _

"So they can't think, they have reduced motor functions, can't feel pain, and generally die within the first seventy-two hours of inoculation. HYDRA messed up on this project. It looks like something in the Chitauri's blood is what's causing the organ failure." Grabbing the file Tony renamed something witty as the medical autopsy reports from the dead subjects, the genius flipped through the medical examiners notes to find that his theory was in fact correct, and that an unknown element in the alien race's blood was the cause of death for the convicted criminals. "Jarvis, run a sample through the mass-spectrometer and find out what is in the blood that is making these subjects die so quickly. Have Wall-E get a sample from one of the creatures that attacked at the house and have Dummy or Butterfingers run a comparison with any blood found at the tower. I at least want to know what elements are present; it would be something to work with."

Slipping his hand below his waistband and into the dark heat of his pants, the dark haired man bit back a groan at the feel of his calloused fingers gripping his erection. His eyes closed momentarily, reminding the man just how tired he was, before snapping back open to focus on the task at hand. Glancing over his shoulder slightly, he released a sigh at the sight of Steve still sleeping in the same position he left him in earlier; hand resting on his chest while the other dangled over the side, head cocked to the side supported by his oversized hoodie, legs bent at an awkward angle, and his mouth hanging slightly open. The way the soldier lay under the fluorescent glow of the overhead lights made him look serene, angelic like almost where all the exhausted shadows and left the corners of his face. Tony would have rather had the captain sleep in a comfortable bed, lord only knows that sleeping on a hard surface such as a tabletop couldn't be all that comfortable, but the man had been asleep for the better part of six hours and as long as he got his rest Tony wasn't up for complaining.

Giving himself a long pull from the base to the tip of his anatomy, Tony sucked his bottom lip in between his teeth to keep his vocals in check while his thumb played with the small slit at the head. He felt a single bead of pearly white substance push its way up to coat the tip of his thumb, followed by another and another soon after. If he wasn't careful, or extremely lucky, this was about to be the fastest hand job he'd ever given himself. Maybe it would be interesting to get caught by his captain again, toying with himself under the counter, but he was still sleeping; bummer. Shrugging off his disappointment, Tony resumed with dragging his fist up and down his stiff member at a languid pace, every so often allowing his thumb to pass over the sensitive tip to drag his leaking juices down his cock creating a lubricant for his hand to glide against.

"Jarvis, bring up the MARK VIII blueprints again, I think we can still modify the thrusters to exponentially increase the speed without having to use too much energy to do so. Maybe he could use the repulsor technology and combine it with the boosters, because I feel like the more I fly around the weaker the reactor becomes." A series of wireframes popped up on the screen, the files all containing the secrets of one of Tony's greatest creations. Highlighting one of the frames, Tony's body suddenly convulsed as his orgasm rippled over his skin forcing his body upright in his chair. Distantly he heard the chairs wheels rock against the tile; he hoped it wasn't as loud as he thought it was. Sweat coated his skin, layering his body in sheen of precipitation that was a direct result of his orgasm. Sinking his teeth down into his bottom lip, a bleak attempt to hold back a muted groan, Tony felt his stomach muscles clench at the stinging sensation from his now bloodied lip.

Feeling relaxed and lightheaded, Tony slumped back against his office chair in a heap. He took a moment to breathe, swallowing shallow gulps of air to resupply his body in hopes to make the room stop spinning. If every time he was to jerk himself off he was to submit to the unpleasant lightheaded feeling, the engineer thought for a moment that maybe ejaculating wasn't all that worth it. It was a hot moment before he laughed to himself reminding his body just how good it felt when Steve touched him and that he could endure the dizzy spells and lightheadedness if by the chance that Steve felt like indulging himself with Tony's body once again. It would so be worth it.

Pulling his hand free from the warmth of his pants, Tony dragged his sticky fingers over his flat stomach and up under his shirt to play with the soft hairline that traveled from a few inches below his navel down to the nest of curls between his legs. Swirling his fingers around in the substance, finger-painting small designs into his skin, Tony's eyes flicked back up to the screen with a triumphant smile on his face. "Good work Jarvis," he commended. The hard drive restoration had been completed.

"_You did most of the work, sir."_

Tony ignored his AI's comment, already knowing it to be true. "Make sure everything is backed up and prepare a report for the director." Weakly standing, his knees still slightly shaky from his release, Tony scratched idly at his lower stomach. His left hand came up to tap his chin in wonder before he moved over to a cabinet in search of one of his StarkTablets he had stored on the helicarrier. Bracing himself on the counter with his right hand, Tony pushed himself up on his toes to reach with his left hand for his hiding place on the top shelf inside the storing unit. The tip of his fingers brushed the polished curve of his tablet, the tech almost in his grasp. Mindful not to push too hard on his sticky hand supporting his weight, fearing his luck as he would slip and fall, Tony leaned heavily against the counter and pushed higher on his toes.

Just as the pads of his index and middle finger made contact with his tablet, the force of a firm body plastered itself to his back. Before he knew what was happening, strong fingers curled around his jaw, jerking his head back enough to allow his lips to slide perfectly against the engineer's in a dominating kiss. Tony knew the taste like it was his own; he didn't have to see the sun-kissed blonde hair or the deep cobalt eyes to know that it was Steve manipulating his body. Hungrily kissing back, his head cocked at an awkward angle over his right shoulder, Tony's left hand came up to twist his upper body and thread his fingers through the blonde's hair. Groaning as his body was twisted tighter than a pretzel, Tony fought to relinquish some of the force exerted upon his hips, desperate to turn fully into his captains body.

Steve pushed him forward, slamming his left hand down onto the counter to brace himself as the blondes hands warped over the expanse of his torso. Fingers outlined the sensitive ridges of the lean muscles hidden beneath the SHIELD reserve cotton tee and traveled down to his flank to massage at the man's sensitive sides. The tablet that was teetering on the edge of the shelf fell onto the counter with a loud clatter, startling the engineer. His AI sensed the motion of the tablet and brought up the blueprints for the MARK VIII. Steve leaned heavily over the man's shoulder, his eyes scanning the improvements made to the boosters, repulsors and lasers as well as the intricate weapons system. Tony moaned as Steve pressed his hardened length against Tony's backside. The feel of the man's lips attached to his shoulder was an enjoyable reminder of a few weeks ago. "It seems you've been hard at work." Steve purred softly into the man's ear, offering a slight nibble to the man earlobe. Tony instantly knew Steve had caught him with his earlier activities. Apparently the noise was enough to wake the soldier.

Shivers rippled over his skin, the hot breath of the other man igniting a flame inside of him that he thought he'd already doused. Apparently he'd only saturated it with kerosene as the moment Steve's large hand sought out the stain on the front of his athletic pants Tony was instantly hard. He had to reevaluate his recharge time because the last time he was able to get it back up again so fast was back at the tail end of his college years. His hips involuntarily bucked against his captain's hand, pressing the soldiers hand against the hardware of the storing unit. Steve's fingers flexed in response around Tony's hardened erection. His fingers tightly gripped him to the point that it was almost too painful for the engineer's fuzzy mind to withstand.

Tony gasped, his response a breathy whimper falling over his lips. His hands flexed, fingers splayed across the cool surface of the counter seeking out something for him to hold onto. He could feel Steve's hand travel up from his hardened anatomy, his fingers dipping under the black tee to play with the hardening bodily fluid below the man's navel. Swirling his index finger around a bit before gliding his hand up the rest of Tony's torso, fingers lightly brushing past the warmth of the arc reactor, Tony jumped when the blondes large hand came to a rest over the Plexiglas. Slightly panicked, Tony pushed against Steve's body. "Steve—"

"Shh," Steve whispered. His fingers traced the rounded edges of the piece of technology inside Tony's chest, memorizing each curve and dip of the metal plating and welding that held the device together. Even though Tony couldn't feel the fingers like he would if they were against his skin, the act was enough to calm his mind and allow him to feel the sensations that were emitting from the epicenter of his chest. "You know I wouldn't hurt you." Steve's hand followed its path back down the smooth skin of Tony's abdomen, fingers dipping below the elastic of the man's waistband to seek out Tony's cock.

His fingers rolled the slick appendage around his palm momentarily, making an appreciative feel for how hard he was for him. The funny thing was, Steve had hardly touched him and Tony was this excited. He couldn't wait to see how responsive the man would be in light of other activities. Gripping the base of Tony's cock, Steve slowly drug his hand up to massage at the sensitive tip. He chuckled to himself, enjoying the feel of Tony's spontaneous convulsions against him every time he stimulated a sensitive area. Smoothing his thumb over the slit, Steve brought his hand down to continue with his lazy pull on the man's body. The smile that reached his lips as the brunette came with a shuttered gasp into his hand lit up his whole face.

His other hand, which had previously been massaging at the man's hip, reached down to nudge at the back of Tony's thighs. Confused at first, Tony glanced over his shoulder to stare at the soldier in a confused manner before the Captain nudged his knee again and assisted him in propping his knee up on the surface of the counter. Using his foot to prod the engineer's foot, Steve smiled in triumph at Tony's kneeling position on the counter. Releasing the man's body, Tony whimpered at the sudden loss. He felt Steve's hand guide his grey athletic pants down over his hips, dragging his black boxer-briefs with them. His legs were restricted by the joggers, but he was still spread beautifully before the blonde soldier. Feeling suddenly overly exposed, Tony made to turn around only to have the Captains hands stop his jerky movements by placing a firm hand back on his hip. Tony had a sinking suspicion that his protruding hip bones were a turn on for the blonde behind him.

Peppering the man's back with soft kisses along his spine, Steve brought around his slick fingers to the engineer's tight entrance. Tersely rubbing his index finger around the puckered muscle, Steve buried his finger knuckle deep and reveled in the pleasured gasp from under him. Adding a second almost instantaneously, Steve used his free hand to push up the man's black tee. His mouth sought out the tight skin, littered with healing cuts and bruises, before finding a receptive patch of skin to latch onto just below his waist line. His hand moved up Tony's back to rest at his shoulder. Applying some gentle force, manipulating the man's body forward slightly to raise his hips into a better position for Steve's fingers to work open his tight entrance, Steve smirked at how willing Tony was. Whether Tony would believe him or not, Steve had no idea what he was doing and really was just modifying a few things from what he'd over heard others talking about. Judging by Tony's responses, Steve had a feeling he was doing something right.

Tony felt the blonde's third finger penetrate his body. His muscles ached from the position Steve moved him into, his knees not used to such brutal treatment, but he didn't want to complain or move as the stimulation to his body felt so incredibly good. He was panting hard, gritting his teeth through his third erection that morning. A few papers that lay out on the counter were now a crumpled mess as his hands had gripped them so tightly they were now a scrunched mess beneath his fingers. The tablet that lay just under his hips continued to scroll through the blueprints of his MARK suit. Tony's dark, lustful eyes tried to focus on the math in one section, giving his brain something else to focus on other than the beautiful blonde soldier finger fucking him from behind, but Tony could see Steve's working hand through the glare on the screen.

A few drops of his ejaculate dotted the screen of his tablet, but Tony could still see plain as day the outline of Steve's large hand working and stretching him open. Watching him pull his hand away, Tony whimpered at the sudden loss. He could feel his body already start to tighten around the void and he desperately wanted Steve to finish him off. Willing his numb arms to start working, Tony turned to cock his head over his shoulder. "Steve—"

His eyes locked onto the soldier dropping the zipper to his TDU's. The button popped and the tented bulge in the man's pants only seemed to grow with the added space. Moaning, Tony wanted to reach out and take hold of the soldier's wide girth but didn't trust his muscles to not give way. Instead he settled for watching the soldier coat himself with the rest of his release and drop large mouthfuls of spit down over his leaking member. The soldier worked his hand over his stiff cock, working the makeshift lubricant into his skin before turning his attention back to Tony.

Reaching his hand out to tease the man's entrance once again, forcing the fluids back into the engineer's body, Steve lowered the man's hips once again. Aligning Tony with himself, Steve pulled the genius' shoulders back to rest in the cradle of his chest. "Do you know what you do to me?" He whispered as his breath ghosting over the shell of the genius' ear. "Do you know how many times I've had to watch you toy with yourself before I couldn't take it anymore? You're so fucking gorgeous, Tony." Tony's mind didn't have long to process the swear word that slipped from the soldier's lips as those fingers were removed forcing a moan from his lips. Apparently Steve had been watching him longer than he initially thought. Kinky…

Steve's head brushed against his backside. A shiver ran over his skin, jostling his nerve endings all the way down to his toes. Leaning heavily against the soldier, his hands coming up to support his body by gripping the edge of the overhead shelf, Tony felt himself be guided down onto the tip of Steve's hard cock. Easing himself, with assistance from Steve from behind, down onto the impressive girth between Steve's legs Tony hissed as his backside was stretched painfully. Sinking his teeth down onto his bottom lip, choking back a sound that could possibly stop Steve from continuing, the engineer focused his attention to the diagnostic display on the StarkTablet just under his line of site. Swallowing back large mouthful's of air as he slowly took Steve in, inch by inch, until the soldier had the engineer seated on his hilt. Adjusting his hands around Tony's hips, Steve rested his chin on the crook of Tony's shoulder.

"You okay?" One of his hands moved to feel the tight abdominal muscles clenching and relaxing as Tony's body adjusted to the large intrusion. Kissing the corner of his mouth, Steve patiently waited for Tony to acknowledge him. He had a feeling he was hurting Tony, as usually the muffled sounds of gasps, whimpers, or moans could be heard spilling over his lips but Tony was silent. When the man didn't respond to the gently worrying of his fingers into his hip, or the gentle massage of his hand on his stomach Steve knew something was wrong. Kissing his mouth once again, Steve moved to pull away gently pulling himself out.

"No, wait!" One of Tony's hands shot back to grip the soldiers loose TDU's, effectively holding him in place. Holding Steve still, Tony rolled his hips around in a circular motion about the epicenter of Steve's cock and sighed as his body swallowed Steve in more; muscles finally relaxing. Tony heard Steve groan softly. The man's body was suddenly at his back again supporting his weight atop the counter. Rolling his hips down, Tony gasped when Steve's hips moved up to meet his roll half way tearing a throaty moan from his throat. "Fuck, Steve," he begged. "Please move." He would beg all day if he could keep Steve buried in his body, filling him up to the brim with gratification.

Happily obliging the man, Steve slowly drew back painfully slowly until on the head of his anatomy was squeezed around the man's entrance like a vice. Tony groaned, not particularly caring for the gentle pace, but when Steve forced himself back in and an ungodly moan ripped from his throat. The sound echoed about the room, bouncing off the hard surfaces making the moan seem all that much louder as it resonated in the couples ears. Not allowing Tony long to revel in the bliss of the initial thrust caused, Steve pulled back just as slow as before to repeat his motion, the head of his cock striking the engineer's deep inner walls with an unhindered force. Tony's head dropped back to rest on the crook of Steve's shoulder, the situation feeling more and more like déjà vu but only a thousand times more stimulating.

"You feel so good," biting a kiss into the brunette's exposed neck above the edging of his tee, Steve grunted. Rolling his hips into the man's body, finding after a few excruciatingly slow thrusts that the resistance in Tony's body seemed to lessen, Steve groaned loudly. His hands worked over the man's sensitive abdomen, massaging the muscles under his finger tips and thrusting in marginally faster into Tony's tight body. A slow pull out followed by a hard driving force back in had Steve's head swimming with pleasure. The way Tony's body was spread before him, thighs spread wide—his skin reddening under the friction of his joggers rubbing against his thighs—with him resting on his haunches, created the perfect angle for Steve to plunder against Tony's body with the least amount of resistance.

"You're going to spoil sex for me, Cap—"Tony's breath hitched in his throat, another slow pull out leaving his head dizzy with pleasure. "Anyone after this isn't going to be the same." Steve thrust harshly into Tony's body, the head of his cock striking the outer rim of the man's prostate. Tony nearly screamed, the sound only hindered by Steve's hand coming up with a soft reminder to keep it down. Steve's hand returned to Tony's hip and placed a soft kiss to the man's exposed throat.

"There won't be any others, Tony." Steve growled possessively. Hips rocking up into the man's body, forcing his erection deeper, a sly smirk crept slowly made its way to the soldiers face. "You're mine now." Thrusting unforgiving into Tony's body, the man cried out from either the force of Steve's body rocking into him or the possessive bite to his neck Steve wasn't sure, but he just knew he was the cause of the whine that followed after. "Tony," he panted.

Tony's legs were shaking so bad he found himself wondering how he was keeping himself upright. He had a feeling he was leaning most of his weight into Steve's strong body, but even with the transfer of weight the muscles in his thighs convulsed wildly. It was nearly too painful for him to stay crouched on the balls of his feet, his aged muscles screaming out in agony. His numb arms fell forward, palms crashing against the granite counter top, followed by his knees dropping heavily. His spine arched up forcing Steve's cock from his body as he fell forward, his hips now too high to reach Tony's tight entrance. Wheezing like he had just run a full marathon, swallowing down large gulps of air, Tony released a shuddering sigh as Steve's fingers sought out his body once again plugging three fingers in his abused hole.

Steve leaned forward, unable to help himself as his tongue rimmed the outer edge of the red ring of muscle tasting the sinfully delicious combination of himself and Tony on his lips. The man's hips bucked, not expecting the action, and his legs slipped from their high perch on the counter down into the tight space between Steve's firm body and the counter. Boneless and still fully erect, Tony rolled his face to the side to weakly look up at Steve through his lustful eyes begging for a release and to be claimed by the captain. Manhandling Tony over onto his back, making quick work of the grey athletic pants over his bare feet and laying him directly upon the StarkTablet, Steve leaned forward to claim Tony's slightly chapped lips with his own.

Nibbling lightly on the man's lower lip, silently asking for permission, Steve reveled when Tony vaguely dropped his jaw and met Steve's tongue with his own. His hand came up to tangle in the sunny locks of hair at the side of the captains head, forcing his body down further upon his own needing to feel Steve against him and begging for his captain to fill him up once again as the threatening bite of his orgasm started to recede. Whimpering into the soldier's mouth, his other hand running the distance of his impressive flank, Tony subtly opened his thighs to cradle Steve's trim waist in the angle of his body. Slanting his lips with Steve's, allowing his captain to kiss the breath from his body, Tony's hand fell from Steve's side to push himself up on his elbow. Propped up, his other hand traveled down Steve's chiseled jaw to seek out his saluting erection and offered a few hearty strokes.

Steve grunted; the noise so soft almost silent but Tony heard it and he knew Steve was just as close as he was. Smirking he offered a few more pleasing strokes to Steve's impressive girth before guiding the soldier back towards his abused body. Straining his shoulder to stretch enough to nudge Steve's head against his body, Tony sighed when Steve rolled his hips burying himself back inside the warmth of Tony's body. Molding his mouth against the man's kiss swollen lips, Steve planted his massive hands on either side of Stark's head. Pulling back from his searing kiss, Steve smiled down at Tony's lustful expression and leaned in so his mouth hovered directly over the shell of his ear. Whispering something erotic into the engineer's ear, Steve latched his mouth against a reddening mark on the genius' neck. Thrusting into Tony's body, loving the way the new position rubbed his cock in all the right places, Steve canted his hips and pounded his hips against Tony's in a maddening canter.

The flaps of his TDU's brushed against Tony's backside, rubbing the skin on the back of his thighs red raw. Tony's legs encircled the toned waist of the soldier, drawing him in closer forcing the long thrusts to become deep and short, striking hard against his prostate. Hand's searching for purchase on Steve's body, Tony's fingers alternated between fisting the tight tee and gripping the man's incredible bicep. Mouth hanging open, a silent prayer hanging off the tip of his tongue, begging for the pent up release, Tony released a scream of pleasure as his body be seized with rapture. Steve capped his mouth over Tony's, swallowing the scream of satisfaction and moaned his own bliss into the dark cavern. Coating their stomachs with his release, Tony's body fell boneless against the counter as Steve rode out the remainder of his orgasm and released his own deep within the engineer.

Starring at each other, panting exceptionally hard for either of their bodies to consider being normal, Steve offered an apologetic smile. Softly nuzzling Tony's throat, coaxing the brilliant mind back down to Earth, Steve waited patiently for Tony's cognitive thinking to return. "Tony," he crooned. "You okay?" Fearing he had really hurt the other, Steve's eyes clouded with worry, a small frown pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah," he rasped after a few hard labored breathing attempts. "Sorry, I'm just having trouble collecting my head. It's still on, I assume?"

Steve nodded, a playful smile upturning his face. "Yeah, it's still on."

"Good," Tony agreed. He blinked his eyes, fighting back the darkness that an orgasm usually brought with it. Normally after a good masturbation session, Tony was ready to take a cat nap, but after three consecutive orgasms rocking his world the engineer found it difficult to focus on anything other than the fuzzy feeling of sleep that threatened to overcome his conscious state. "I'm tired."

"Let's get you to bed." Steve dropped a loving kiss to Tony's forehead, ignoring the noise of resistance.

"I still have—"

"You can work on it later." Steve placed a placid kiss against Tony's mouth and chuckled lightly as the man's dark eyes slowly dropped to find a resting place against his cheeks. Brushing his fingers through the sleeping man's soft locks of hair, Steve pulled away and slipped out of the others body with ease. Righting his trousers, Steve bent to pick up the stained grey joggers and gently slipped them back on over Tony's still quivering legs. Easily lifting Tony's light weight into his arms, cradling his body against his chest like a child Steve turned to make the long trip down a few corridors and into the barracks where a soft bed wait for the exhausted engineer.

Laying him under the turned down linens, Steve slipped in behind the man and pulled his sleeping body flush against his own. Placing one last kiss against his dark head of hair, Steve buried his face in lean muscles of his back and soon submitted to his own post coital exhaustion. A few more hours of sleep couldn't hurt, and as long as they weren't needed Steve saw no problem with napping well into the afternoon.

-A-V-E-N-G-E-R-S-

A/N again, I feel like that was mushy and terrible. But, between the slight heartbreak I get from working on I Wrote Your Name and not updating in what feels like forever I thought I'd drag it out a few extra pages. Hopefully that makes up for the delay, but I can't promise an expedient update as working close to 80 hours a week, taking 18 credits and somehow finding time to sleep I'm not sure when I will update again. Keep posted though, and thanks for all the reviews. You guys make my day better.


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